


Admirably

by dansunedisco



Category: Sanditon (TV 2019), Sanditon - Jane Austen
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Humor, Post-Canon, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21642664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dansunedisco/pseuds/dansunedisco
Summary: Two happy moments between Mr. and Mrs. Parker.
Relationships: Charlotte Heywood & Sidney Parker, Charlotte Heywood/Sidney Parker
Comments: 19
Kudos: 93





	Admirably

A full fortnight and a half passed before Charlotte realized she had missed her monthly courses; being the eldest sister to eleven brothers and sisters, plus having helped whelp her father’s prized hunting dogs, not to mention the cows, lambs, and other various livestock to be found on the Heywood property, Charlotte was no stranger to the concept of pregnancy. It did not, however, prepare her at all for her being the one in such a condition. Nor did it prepare her for her husband’s response.

“You are certain, Charlotte?” he asked. 

“I don’t believe there is any way to be completely sure until the fact of it is quite apparent, but -- yes.” She wrung her hands shyly, uncertain of the reception she would receive. They had been husband and wife for only four months, and were still learning the way of one another. Most days were beyond pleasant between them, but the ghosts of the past had a way of rearing their head from time to time -- and the subject of children, _their_ children, hadn’t yet become a topic of discussion. But Charlotte needn’t have feared his reaction.

A smile broke out on Sidney’s face, a brilliant thing Charlotte cherished every time she saw it come. “Why, Mrs. Parker, I daresay you’ve made me the happiest man in all the world,” he said softly, and gathered her quickly in his arms to bestow a chaste kiss to her temple.

“All the world, you say?”

“Yes. I won’t trouble you to find a happier man from here to the West Indies or the New World for your searching would end only in vain. I am-- I am truly pleased. You’ve done admirably.”

“The _both_ of us have,” she remarked, blushing lightly at her implication. She hadn’t been entirely innocent in the ways of the marriage bed between man and woman, but she hadn’t realized how completely, wonderfully _pleasant_ the act could be; nor how often and how voraciously she would desire Sidney’s intimate touch. She settled into his arms. “Do you wish for a boy, or a perhaps a girl?”

“A healthy babe would suit me well,” he said, fingertips touching lightly at the still-flat expanse of Charlotte’s stomach. He kissed her then, and when he drew back he was smiling still.

“I will make a private call to Dr. Fuchs this afternoon.”

“Of course,” he agreed. “Would I be presuming to think you would want to confide in Mary as soon as the good doctor confirms all is well?”

She hadn’t thought of telling anyone beyond Sidney until he mentioned it, but now that he had: “Yes, and my sister Alison and my mother. Georgiana, too, if you are amenable. And Father, of course. Perhaps this will finally be the gentle push he needs to visit Sanditon at long last.”

“You can tempt him further by implying my great interest in the latest farming innovations.” He brushed her hair behind her ear. “But Charlotte, if you do tell Mary, you should tell her that Tom shouldn’t be told until absolute must.”

“Whyever not?”

“Can you not see the announcement, my darling? A fete in your honor to announce the happy news, Lady Denham presiding--”

She gave a light, teasing swat to his chest. “How highly improper!”

“--Or another regatta with the prize winnings of naming the Baby Parker!”

“ _Sidney!_ You shouldn’t tease me so,” she said, laughing.

He did note, however, that she did not contradict him in the least.

  
  
  


The pregnancy proceeded on as most did, with Charlotte experiencing the horrendous nausea of morning sickness -- which, according to Mary and most other women who’ve experienced it, was actually a state that lasted on, and on, and on with no respite -- and waking one day with her stomach rather quite larger than she had ever seen it before. She felt tired all the time, and the breezy sea salt air left her snappish vice invigorated. Her ankles swelled to twice their size, and she felt so fragile, like her skin was fit to burst at any moment.

“Your ankles are not twice their previous size,” Sidney countered, and he lifted Charlotte’s leg -- which he was currently massaging -- as if to say ‘see? I know better than you’.

“Sidney, _please_ \--” She tried to tug her leg from her husband’s grasp, but he made no concessions and continued to press his thumbs into the tender arches of her foot. “You shouldn’t see me in such a state.”

“And what state is that?”

“Half-dressed,” she groused.

He arched an eyebrow at her. “I could remedy the ailment if obliged.”

“ _Sidney._ No. I am-- you can’t possibly mean--”

“You are as lovely as ever, my darling.”

“False flattery doesn’t suit you.” She felt mean; meaner than ever, the worst version of herself, and unable to stop it. “I wish you wouldn’t tease me.”

“I do so enjoy teasing you, but there is nothing false about what I said today. You are lovely,” he said, his voice soft and tender. His gentle ministrations stopped, and he proceeded to roll Charlotte’s stocking back on; his hand lingered on the soft skin of her leg before moving to lace on her shoes. He stood when he was complete with his task, and leaned down to grasp Charlotte’s hands. He brushed a kiss to the backs of them. “And I love you.”

Her eyes pricked with hot tears; she felt hot and cold, and beyond grateful at Sidney’s patience. “And I you, husband.”

**Author's Note:**

> well, ok. i guess i'm just throwing myself into this fandom.


End file.
